Operates on both 120 and 240V.Can be shipped to any country; you can find shipping costs by putting the item into the shopping cart; be sure to click "display rates"

No dangerous metal 240/120 volt lights.

Welcome to algae scrubbers. We are the only source for patented upflow scrubbers: U.S. Patent 9,115,008 and 9,708,207. All the oceans, reefs, lakes and rivers are naturally filtered only by algae, and all the organic particles remain in the water to feed the creatures. Reduce your glass cleaning and water changes, and create an environment for living micro-animals to grow inside the scrubber. No more dosing or possible overdosing. No more refilling. No more pale corals from low nutrients, and no more sick animals from high nutrients. Far more powerful than chaeto or refugiums, and does not remove the food particles. And you can use the algae as food!

Get the no-overflow advantage of an upflow scrubber: since it is ALL underwater, it can't overflow onto your floor. And now the LED light is coated with an extremely tough black epoxy to maximize protection from water, salt, and physical damage.

Finally an aquarium filter that offers drop-in installation, reduction or elimination of water changes and nuisance algae, along with almost no-light and almost no-sound, and possibly most important, one-handed cleaning with no disassembly required. It operates the way the oceans and lakes do, using algae to do all the filtering, and truly can replace all other filters in your aquarium.

The SURF2xx (TM) is the highest-powered version of the original SURF2, which was the world's first floating surface Upflow Algae Scrubber® (also called a UAS®). It is also the first Ribbon Scrubber®, which is what allows the algae to be removed from the scrubber with one hand without needing to disassemble anything or take anything to the sink. Simply lift up the lid and pull the algae out. And you can feed some of the algae to your fish and snails if you want to; fresh is best!

This SURF2xx floating surface scrubber has over 24 square inches (150 square cm) of extremely rough Green-Grabber® algal growth surface which can grow up to a 2" (5 cm) thick block of green hair algae. This is about two small handfuls, and is designed to absorb the nutrients from this much feeding per day:

2 Frozen cube, or

20 Pinches of flake, or

20 Square inches (125 square cm) of nori, or

5.6 grams of pellets

The physical size or number of gallons or liters of water in your tank or sump does not matter, however the phosphate level does: This SURF2xx is great for saltwater with phosphate up to 0.5 ppm; if phosphate is higher than 0.5 ppm, then use it with other phosphate removers at the same time. And if you feed more than the above amounts, you can get multiple SURF2xx units (or combination SURF and HOG units); multiple units are preferred over one larger unit because you can clean one unit per week, and because you'll always have one unit filtering while the other one starts growing again after a cleaning. Multiple SURFxx units (or SURF and HOG) are also good for backup. Alternately, you could get the larger SURF4

Note that if you have rocks which are soaked with phosphate from having been in a problem aquarium, each 50 pounds (110 kg) of problem rock will add 1 cube a day to your feeding amounts; so be sure to account for this when choosing a scrubber size. For example if you feed 1 cube a day, but have 100 pounds of rock that came from a tank with nuisance algae problems, this rock will add 2 cubes a day to your feeding, meaning that you would need a scrubber for 3 cubes a day. This applies even if the rock was dried out and bleached, because this does not remove any nutrients from the rock.

The SURF2xx starts with two air bubble openings at the bottom, where upflowing air bubbles (from a strong air pump, sold separately) flow up into the growth compartment and bring aquarium water with it. As the bubbles and water enter the growth compartment they rub the algae-attachment ribbons and get blasted by the super-red 660nm LED light. The bubbles then circle around and around inside the growth compartment, rubbing against the ribbons and the Green-Grabber®super-rough rock-hard attachment textures as the bubbles rise up to the water surface. This repeated rubbing of bubbles causes algae to start growing on the ribbons and textures; saltwater grows thick, dense algae. The air then goes out of the top of the unit, quietly and with very little salt spray, and the water goes down and out two holes in the bottom, without hardly any bubbles remaining.

A few features of the SURF2xx provide real usefulness and are available on no other algae scrubber (except the larger SURF units). First, the enclosed growth compartment increases the dwell time of the water and bubbles inside the unit so that they rub the algae many times before leaving the compartment. This actually reduces nutrients (nitrate, phosphate) to a level lower than the outside water, which allows greener growth to occur sooner (lower nutrients grows greener algae) inside the unit, especially in high-nutrient aquarium water. In other words, the SURF2xx creates a lower-nutrient ecosystem inside itself which is different from the rest of the water in your aquarium. Also, the position of the air bubble inlets (below the growth) causes the bubbles to flow through the growth no matter how thick the growth gets. This is in contrast to waterfall scrubbers, which mostly flow water on the outside of the growth, leaving the inner layers of growth without flow.

Another feature which was highly requested was quiet operation. Since the SURF2xx does not touch the aquarium glass or sump glass, and since it's made of heavy material surrounded by foam, it is by far the quietest algae scrubber ever made. As a matter of fact it's almost silent (the air pump is usually louder). The thick and heavy gauge plastic growth container is coated internally by even thicker and heaver Green-Grabber textures, and is surrounded on the outside by 1" (2.5 cm) of closed cell polyethylene foam. This stops virtually all sound from going sideways. And the 1/2" (12 mm) thick LED lid is filled with super dense but flexible polyurethane, which absorbs more sound than a rigid structure would, and much more than a non-sealed structure would. Lastly the path that air has to take to get out of the top requires the air to first go sideways towards the foam, and then upwards along the foam; this allows the foam to absorb any remaining sound exactly the way foam absorbs sound in a studio. So while you may hear very muffled bubbling if the filter were next to your bed at night, you will hear nothing if there is any other activity occurring in your house.

Another great feature is the elimination of almost all salt spray (for saltwater). Since the air must come up through the narrow space between the LED lid and the foam, all the salt spray remains in the growth compartment where it is washed away by the water. There sometimes is the occasional bubble that comes out the top, but it's practically nothing compared to the splashing of waterfall scrubbers. And if the unit does ever need to be "washed", you just push the it under the water surface for a few seconds and let water flow over the top; no need to take it to the sink.

Bubble removal is probably the most-requested feature. Any and all algae scrubbers, whether they are upflow, waterfall or horizontal rivers, all have bubbles which must be removed. The internal growth compartment of the SURF2xx keeps bubbles inside the almost 2" deep internal water level, only letting water out of the two small holes at the bottom after the air has escaped out the top. Thus, almost no bubbles at all get into the aquarium or sump water; only a little red light, which gets less as growth gets thicker. And of course the quicker you can grow green algae inside the unit, the quicker you will remove nutrients and nuisance algae from your aquarium, and/or the quicker you can supply fresh green seaweed to your livestock.

The Green-Grabber algal growth attachment surface is so rough and prickly that is might be the roughest thing you've ever felt. A cactus might be sharper, but that's about it. Rough surfaces are critical for allowing algae to attach and grow and thus provide strong absorption of nutrients. The rock-hard protrusions stick straight out 1 to 2 mm. Previous algae scrubber screens were made from "slippery" plastic canvas that is used for sewing and knitting; algae take a long time to attach to it. Green-Grabber growth surfaces are not plastic at all; instead they are rock hard and have jagged rough edges and points (don't let children play with them). And the white color of the Green-Grabber surface reflects as much light as possible, allowing lots of light to reflect back to the algae.

The main advantage of the SURF2xx or any algae scrubber is that if you size and operate it properly, it can be the only filter for your tank, even replacing waterchanges. It can, however, also be used with other filters. Some other filters such as carbon dosing (Zeo, pellets, etc) may slow down the scrubber, but nothing will really "hurt" the scrubber except possibly large amounts of algaecide or copper medications. The SURF2xx cannot even dry out, since it's always under water.

The SURF2xx will run on both 120V and 240V, and comes with a 10 ft (300 cm) power cord with U.S. plugs. If you require different plugs you can get an adapter at any local hardware or travel store, or online, or you can cut off the U.S. plugs and install your own plugs from a hardware store. They are simple 2-wire plugs, and there is one plug for each power supply (2 plugs total).

Comes with 3 ft (90 cm) of dual vinyl airline, but requires a 2-outlet air pump that can pump at least 5.0 total liters per minute (0.2 cfm), which small low-cost pumps cannot do. Pumps that say they can handle 10 or more airstones, or pumps with 2 tubing attachments instead of one, are best..You can have as much air as you like, however, 10 lpm pumps are no problem. One powerful pump which works exceptionally well is the Tetra Whisper AP 300 which has 2-outlets. The Whisper AP 150 also works but you will need two of them. Make sure to put any pump above the aquarium so that it will not drain any water if it shuts off.

The SURF2xx lid contains 8 red (660 nm) 3-watt LEDs, which are attached to an aluminum heat sink which is coated with black epoxy; it does get warm. The LEDs will give the aquarium or sump a slight red color at night when the aquarium lights are off, but this will occur less as the SURF2xx fills with growth. You will probably need to get a timer so you can run the LEDs for up to 22 hours per day, although you can try 24 hours if you want to. The LEDs never needs replacing.

The SURF2xx will need to be cleaned ("harvested") every 7 to 14 days. Just lift up the LED lid, grab a handful of algae, and pull it out. You can even feed some of the algae to your fish. You do not need to take anything apart, or take anything to your sink, unless it is growing dark slime like it usually does when new.

The SURFxx come with a 1 year warranty: Warranty is for replacement or repair only; not a refund. Costs for shipping back to us are covered if you are in the U.S. Costs for shipping back to us are not covered if you are not in the U.S., however we will pay for shipping back to you. In either case, you will need to ship the entire unit back to us before we can ship a replacement. Warranty is limited to repair or replacement, and does not cover fish loss, personal injury, property loss, or direct, incidental or consequential damage arising from the use of it. The warranty and remedies set forth above are exclusive and in lieu of all others, whether oral or written, express or implied. We specifically disclaim any and all implied warranties, including but not limited to lost profits, downtime, goodwill, damage to or replacement of other equipment and property, and any costs of recovering animals, plants, tanks or other aquarium related items and/or equipment. We are not responsible for special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any breach of warranty, or replacement of equipment or property, or any costs of recovering or reproducing any equipment, animals or plants used or grown with this product.

Can be shipped to any country; you can find shipping costs by using the shopping cart; be sure to click "display rates". If you don't have a zip code, enter "zip code" instead. Note that shipping outside of the USA will probably require you to also pay an import charge when it arrives. We cannot mark it as "gift". The lowest cost (but slowest) foreign shipping is generally USPS Priority Mail International, but USPS Priority Express International is faster. The size of the shipping box is 12 x 10 x 6.5 inches (33 x 23 x 16 cm).

"Bought the SURF2x, absolutely love it! Would never run a system without a SantaMonica scrubber again!" -- Tannum_Paul on the MASA site.

Odilon Zerecero SURF2x from Mexico:

"Working perfectly!! [SURF2x] -- Cristiano Amaral in Brazil

"I have a SURF2 the same manufacturer and it is impeccable, it keeps me PO4 zero distributing 3-4 cubes of food per day" -- Eric75003 on the RF site

"Its a great product!!! [SURF2] I run mine in conjunction w/ a skimmer and cannot run both 24/7 because I cant feed enough to keep at least a little Nitrate in the system for the Acro's" -- TDTA1181 on the R2R site.

"I run one of these and quite like it. Getting similar results to a typical refugium I used to have that was about 6 times the size. I went to this product basically to buy myself some sump space back and couldn't be happier" -- Sam Parker's Tank Of The Month on MASA:

"I recent removed bio-pellets, GFO, and trimmed off a lot of macro algae. Oh yeah, overfeeding now to try and bring up my phosphates. Since removing a bunch of nutrient exporting systems like bio-pellets, GFO, and a second algae scrubber, my Surf2 has been growing nuts. It's been less then 7 days and I have to remove more. People are surprised when I open up the Surf2 and show them what I pull out with one hand" -- ReeferEric on the R2R site. pic:

"I see algae scrubbers as the single most significant nutrient exporter you can have" -- Stephen Babcock, The Corner Reef, Columbia, Illinois

"The [SURF2] is really useful and highly necessary for my tank. So I really can't be without it for too long" -- Jason Pappin

"[SURF2x is] growing very well. Love the in sump design. Will probably get another down the road as I increase my bioload." -- Erik Sulman

"The scrubber is working great! getting a lot of nice growth in the SURF2" -- Mike Buechs

"This [SURF2x] is the second scrubber I've bought. Love this product!" -- biggins28 on ebay

"Many thanks for the safe arrival of the SURF2, Thanks again" -- bungy991 on ebay

"Happy with [SURF2], would get another bigger version maybe at some stage" -- juggernoght87 on ebay

"Very reasonable offer [SURF2]" -- edwin65 on ebay

"I stumbled upon [a SURF2] and took a chance ordering one. They are a really great algae scrubber" -- Reeffirstaid on the R2R site.

"I pull a handful out every week [SURF2]" -- Choff on the R2R site.

Matthew Coulthard SURF2:

"The [SURF2] has really taken off" -- Reefindownunder on the scrubber site:

"Currently I have two algae scrubbers that I purchased from Santa Monica. SURF2 and SURF4. SURF2 is powered by Fusion 700 and SURF4 is powered by Coralife Super Luft SL-38. I can grow significant amount of algae in both" -- Tomasz Cop pic of SURF2:

"The [SURF2] at my office is doing great. I would like to order another one for my home tank". -- Thomas Perry

"This is one weeks growth, I'm pulling out a lot more turf now it's certainly got a hold on the ribbons and the textured walls of the box. I tested phosphates a couple of days ago on the Hanna checker and it was reading 0. I did the test again because I've never had a 0 reading on this tank." -- Blinkyfish on the UR site:

"I am currently using the SURF2 on my zoa garden. It is way oversized for my system but works well. Just takes a little longer to grow" -- Landon on the NTRF site.

"My SURF2 is doing very very well [...]. i feed 1 cube a day which is enough for the tank, harvest every 14-21 days ish. i saved a lot of money for not spending any money on rowaphos. no algae in display tank. zero phosphate and nitrate" -- Wesley on the UR site:

"The [SURF2] is great, works perfectly keeps nutrients low. I still have a bit of bubble algae but it's slowly dissapearing. Works well and takes less space than the [waterfall] scrubbers" -- Millar on the UR site.

"Very happy with the SURF2 so far" -- Juls on the UR site.

"I used to have so much cheato, I would sell it on RC. Since adding the SURF2, the cheato is just vanishing as the SURF2 grows more and more. The entire middle section of the sump used to be cheato, and as you can see, there is not much left at all. Nobody else makes a all in one, low maintenance, scrubber like this. There's no drilling or plumbing modifications required, its nearly silent, and takes up no space in my cabinet which all were huge selling points for me. A great product; here's a pic of my growth" -- Dexters Reef...

Dlstn on the UR site:

"Works great!" -- Marcelo Silva, Brazil

"Working great" -- Steven Cantor

Pic from Damien Kwok:

"I'm very pleased with the quality of the SURF2 - it's superior!" -- Sergey Frolovichev

"Using it now in my 60 gal freshwater tank where it works well keeping nitrates below 20" -- Andreas Schaefer

Translated from Portuguese by Google: "Earlier this year the glass of my [DIY] algae scrubber (Model Basso) broke. Due to lack of time and manual skills, not tinkered with skimmer and was only for a few months. decided to spend a little and bought SURF2 of Santa Monica, which measures 20cm x 15cm by 15cm x 10cm outside and inside (area for growth of algae). model is interesting because it is small and is floating in the sump. With that much space gained by removing the previous ATS. SURF2 installed but a few days after my skimmer pump has gone bad. In two weeks the ATS already started forming algae and I played without skimmer for almost one month, only with ATS. Even then parameters were normal. These are photos from yesterday, two months after installation. Already cleaned the box twice and am already almost needs to take algae again. algae that formed in my display during the relax (without ats and skimmer) have gone missing. With the lid closed does not make any noise. You hear only if they get too close" -- Luis Iarossi on the IPAQ site. Original text:

Another photo of two SURF2 or 2x or 2xx scrubbers from the UK customer above. Here you can see the white edges of the Green Grabber rock surfaces are much more covered in growth, which is the normal process because algae eventually covers all rough surfaces that have the proper light and air/water interface turbulence. Of more importance here, is the fact that there are two scrubbers instead of one. Two smaller scrubbers is always preferred over one larger one, because scrubbers actually remove nutrients from the water, but do so mostly when they are growing thick hair or thick slime algae. When you clean a scrubber all the way down to the white reflective surfaces, you don't have any more thick growth for a few days, and you will see the difference in how long your display glass stays clean and other ways. So by having a second scrubber that you clean on alternating schedules (one every 5 days, for example), you always have the other one growing thick and filtering. Other aquarium filters, however, such as protein skimmers, filter socks, etc, don't remove any nutrients at all, and thus it doesn't matter if you only have one of them because cleaning it won't change anything.

This customer in the UK has growth that almost looks like green candy in this SURF2 or 2x or 2xx. This scrubber is probably only a few weeks old, because the white Green Grabber rock walls have no growth on them yet. But they will. This type of Surf growth is very rare, but the beauty of scrubbers is that they grow what they need to grow based on conditions. This one will probably start getting some brown slime on the Green Grabber rock walls, and then on the bottom underneath the green. If more food is given to the tank, the bright green will darken up to consume more of the nutrients (darker growth has more nutrients). Also very neat with Surf models with this growth, is that you can just reach in and get a handful. Then just set the light back on it, and you are done. Of course if you are getting dark slime because of very high nutrients in the water, you'll still need to take it to your sink for a brushing...

This is a customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx that has been running for quite a while in saltwater. In this photo, the water has been drained out (unlike most floating scrubber photos) so the growth has settled on the bottom, and has mixed with some darker slime where the light is very low (lower light, with higher nutrients, makes dark slime). Also some brown slime is around the edge of the lid light, which is also a low-light area. The Green Grabber rocky surfaces hold on to the slime well. The strings can barely be seen, but are on the right side:

Here is a customer's old SURF2x in saltwater. This old model has the old light-frame which did not block the red light from getting out like the current models do. Light is the same though, pure red 660nm deep red, just like natural seaweed uses at the beach and reefs. Some people ask why the inside of the SURF is white, which you can see with the algae pulled out in the second photo. The reason is because white reflects the red light back to the algae at the farthest point away from the light, which is where the light would be weakest. As opposed to a waterfall, where light travels mostly through air, the growth in a bubble upflow scrubber has to go through algae most of the way. So reflecting it back to the algae keeps it brighter, using the same wattage light. The growth in this photo is almost all Cladphora. Add some vinegar and olive oil, and it's a great salad....